The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
by sass box
Summary: When the Hammersley is tasked with delivering supplies to a remote island after a storm, it becomes clear that they won't make it back to port for Christmas. Instead, they learn a valuable lesson about friendship and family.
1. December 20

******A/N: So after a bit of a hiatus, I was inspired to write this. It's a little fluffy and possibly OOC, and most definitely AU, but I hope you like it. Also, it's set in my 'Ghosts' universe, but of course I haven't actually gotten that story up yet, so never mind. Hints of Mike/Kate, shameless Nav/ET and 2Dads/Bomber, and so, so much Christmas cheer. I'm going to do a 'Five Days of Christmas' challenge for myself so I'm going to update this every day until Christmas, so stay tuned. So please, read and review because that makes my day!**

**The Most Wonderful Day of the Year**

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas on the Hammersley. Of course, December in Australia was as bright and sunny as always, but there was an element of festive cheer in the air. It had something to do with the gingerbread cookies Bird had churned out on a daily basis starting on December 1st and the regular supply of candy canes doled out by Charge instead of lollipops. Bird entertained herself throughout the day by playing a wide variety of Christmas music, from Kenny G to choral music to 'The Nutcracker', and once, Justin Bieber's Christmas CD. That lasted about ten minutes, and Buffer was sure he still had the CD and case on top of his desk to prevent her from playing it. Mike found himself whistling 'It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas' as he walked down the halls.

Then, there was that memorable time, after a brief shore leave, that a few crew members raided the Christmas section of the local dollar store and decorated every available, safe space and even a few that weren't with cheap tinsel, wrapping paper covered with fat, cheery Santas, glittery paper, and bows, whether they were red, green, gold, or silver. It was beyond tacky. Actually, Mike had a good idea of who the culprits were, because doing things at 2 am just isn't stealthy on a navy ship, but the decorations helped crew morale and he wasn't about to get mad at 2Dads and Charge for having a little fun.

It had been a while since they'd been to port and although they weren't exactly tired of each other, but they needed their time off. All the Christmas cheer in the world couldn't hide that, although it certainly helped.

The bridge was dark, except for the glow of controls and, of course, the multi-coloured Christmas lights wrapped around everything. It was a quiet night, and Mike was really looking forward to a little peace and quiet. That is, until RO popped his head in, holding the sat phone, and shattered his dreams.

"Nav Com wants to speak with you," he said, looking a little grim.

"Fantastic," Mike groaned, feeling all his holiday anticipation get squashed like it had been run over by a reindeer. He reached out and took the phone reluctantly. "Sir."

When he put the phone back, he sagged under the realization that he was going to be crushing a lot of dreams tonight.

"What's wrong, sir?" asked Kate, sitting back in her chair and taking a sip from her mug. Mike could smell the cinnamon wafting from her steaming cup of tea. She turned her head to shoot him an inquisitive look, eyebrows arched.

Mike sighed deeply. "We're not going back to port. We've got to turn the ship around," he replied wearily.

"Right," she said, turning back to the controls and beginning to steer the sleeping ship in an arc.

"Are you serious? What for?" 2Dads asked, whipping around and looking like a kicked puppy.

"Melrose Island was hit pretty hard by a tropical storm and Nav Com wants us to meet up with the Anzac to get a shipment of supplies to take out to them. We are, unfortunately, the closest asset," he explained, draining the last of his brew and standing up to go inform the rest of the crew that their chances of getting home for Christmas were slim.

He found Swain sitting in the Senior Sailor's Mess, chewing casually on a candy cane sticking out of his hot chocolate.

"Swain, I have some bad news," Mike said. "We're not going back to base. Nav Com has tasked us to take supplies to Melrose Island, and our chances of getting back to base are slim."

"They couldn't task someone else? I promised Sally and Chloe I'd be home!" Swain said, looking so heartbroken that Mike immediately felt a stab of guilt in his chest. His eyes burned with guilt and exhaustion. It was bad enough that Swain had missed his daughter's birth and many of her birthdays, but he'd never had to miss Christmas.

"I'm really sorry, Swain. I tried to get them to task someone else, but we're the closest asset," Mike explained, giving his friend a pat on the shoulder. "We're meeting up with the Anzac to get the supplies in an hour."

"Why can't they go instead?" asked Swain, taking a sip of his drink and looking up at Mike. He was grasping for straws.

"They've been out for too long, something about not enough fuel to make it back," Mike replied, trying to be sympathetic. There were times when Nav Com frustrated him, sure, but they all wanted to be home for Christmas.

For the first time in a while, Mike had been looking forward to getting some time off. He had invited Kate to come with him to Melbourne to visit his family, and surprisingly, the blonde had accepted. She had been planning on spending time with Nav and ET and their daughter Lily on Boxing Day. Swain had been planning on spending a quiet day at home with Sally and Chloe. Bird, Spider and Charge were planning on going to their respective homes. Bomber – well, Rebecca now – and 2Dads were going to meet up. They all had had their holidays worked out, and as of December 20, it didn't look like Christmas was going to happen for any of them, being three days from port and another two from Melrose Island. That, of course, was without the crappy weather blowing in and time taken to unload the supplies and get everybody back on their feet on the tiny island.

"I understand," said Swain, looking downcast. He swirled the candy cane in his hot chocolate, sucking contemplatively on the end. "I'll be up on deck to help unload supplies."

"Thanks Swain. Again, I'm really sorry," Mike responded, feeling awful about the way things had turned out. At least he would get to spend Christmas with Kate.

"It's alright, mate," Swain said, not looking sincere in the least, but managing a smile. With a final pat on the shoulder, Mike left the mess and made his way down to the galley to find Bird.

He heard her the second he put one combat boot on the floor. She was singing along to some Christmas CD, and surprisingly, she had a nice voice. He could also smell gingerbread, chocolate, and peppermint wafting down the hallway.

"Hi, sir!" she said cheerfully, taking what was clearly going to become a gingerbread out of the oven and putting it on the counter to cool. "Do you want a brew?"

"No thanks, Bird, I'm fine," he said, although caffeine wouldn't hurt right about now. "Look, we're not going to be getting into port for Christmas. We have to deliver some supplies to Melrose Island in the wake of a tropical storm."

"Oh." Her face fell as she began to spoon thick frosting into an icing bag. "I guess I should tell my folks I won't be home for Christmas, then."

"Look, I'm really sorry," Mike repeated for what felt like the millionth time that night. "I know it's going to be hard for you, not getting home."

"It's fine. We'll get home eventually and I know my parents will keep my presents waiting, and as long as I get some leftovers, I can't really complain," she replied, ever the optimist. She gave him a small smile. "Really, it's fine."

"Alright," he nodded, watching as she began to assemble candies and gum drops to decorate the gingerbread house. "Thanks for taking it so well, Bird. That looks delicious." He edged out of the galley, feeling even guiltier than he had with Swain. This whole night was a mess. Even the tacky gold tinsel wrapped around the every door and the Santa lights couldn't make him feel any better. He just needed to get some air.

Everything was quiet up on deck as the Hammersley made her way quietly through the night. Leaning on the rails, Mike looked up at the velvety night sky, feeling the cool night breeze run through his hair. The door creaked open, and a familiar slender figure stepped out.

"Hi," she said softly, moving to stand next to him. "Just not feeling the Christmas spirit anymore?"

"Nah," he replied. "How can I? I've just had to tell Swain and Bird that they won't make it home for Christmas and the rest of the crew will find out tomorrow."

"It's not ideal, but at least we're together," Kate said. "We're all practically family." She looked over the calm sea, smiling slightly in the dark.

"I know," Mike said, "but I still feel really guilty. Swain had his heart set on going home. Bird took it really well, though." He rubbed his eyes, feeling tired. Thank goodness his watch was almost over.

"Don't feel badly about it," Kate said. "We'll get Bird to whip up something special and then maybe we can sing carols or watch some cheesy Christmas movie. I bought 'It's A Wonderful Life' during the last shore leave."

"At least one of us is cheerful," Mike grumbled. "I was looking forward to getting home."

"When life gives you lemons…" Kate chuckled, raising an eyebrow playfully. "We'll make the best of it, don't you worry. We always do." Grinning, she patted the back of his hand and disappeared back into the bridge.


	2. December 21

******A/N: Sorry this took me so long to get up! Hopefully I'll get it done before New Year's. This is December 21's chapter. Hope you like it!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

For a tiny island, Melrose Island sure was a jungle. Actually, the residents had worn a path from the village to the beach and down to the pier, but it was barely wide enough for one person, let alone people carrying heavy boxes of supplies. Nevertheless, the Hammersley's crew were braving it despite the waves of damp heat. After all, they did have a job to do, and there was a sense of urgency hanging over the ship, spurring them on. Everybody was hoping against hope that they'd make it home in time, and Kate MacGregor felt it. Even as she led the group in single file through the dense forest, she could feel knots forming in her shoulders that had absolutely nothing to do with the boxes she was toting.

Just when she thought they'd never make it, she pushed aside an errant branch and stepped out of the jungle into the clearing that marked the edge of town. In the middle of the square was a large myrtle tree that had been strung with white lights and plugged into an outlet on the porch of the nearest house with an extension chord. It was scattered with brightly coloured baubles and tinsel. On the top, there was a rather lopsided golden star.

"They make extension chords that long?" Charge raised an eyebrow, examining it with mild interest.

A few minutes later, dodging fallen boughs and ripped off shingles, they lugged the boxes of supplies to the town hall and stacked them at the top of the stairs.

"Great job, guys," said Kate in her best cheery voice, knocking on the door. Normally she wouldn't have bothered with the whole cheer thing, but the crew was looking a little, well, unenthusiastic, and she didn't want the people of Melrose Island to think that they didn't want to help them or were reluctant in any way. There was just something about the way Swain's shoulders were sagging and 2Dad's kicked puppy expression that was pathetic.

Kate stepped forward and raised her fist to knock on the solid wood door of the town hall. A few seconds later, it swung open and she found herself face to face with a tall, pretty woman about her age with long dark hair swept back into a ponytail and piercing blue eyes.

"Lieutenant MacGregor?" she asked with a smile. "It's good to see you. I'm Michaela Burton, mayor of Melrose Island. Thank you so much for coming!" She pushed the door further open and ushered the group into the small space, where a few families were sitting on the wood floor, clustered around Foreman grills and sitting on pillows.

"The power is out around most of the island, and our generator is down as well," explained Michaela. "The plane that brings food and supplies isn't coming until February, and we haven't gotten a shipment since late November. We're beginning to get low on supplies and if you hadn't shown up, I don't know what we would have done." She sank onto a chair and buried her face in her hands.

"Alright, broken generator. 2Dads!" Kate waved the electrician over. "It's out back. Take Charge with you."

"Yes ma'am," said 2Dads with a cheeky smile in Michaela's direction and a flirtatious wink. "I'll get my stuff outside and then we'll get right on it."

"We have your food in boxes right outside," said Kate, shooting 2Dads a burning look. "And there's another RHIB coming over with coolers of perishables and other supplies. I'm going to have to go down and meet them in," she checked her watch, "fifteen minutes."

"Alright," said Michaela, reaching down to tighten the laces of her hiking boots. "I can help unpack here. I'll help in whatever way I can."

"Great, I'll be back soon," said Kate, walking out of the community center. Once she had passed the Christmas myrtle, she made her way down the path, jogging down it in the searing heat. She really, really hoped that the second RHIB with Mike and the rest of the crew assigned to work Melrose had arrived.

"Hey X, this is the last of it!" called Mike with a grin the second she almost fell out of the tangle of trees around the path, ignoring her massive lurch and the way she grabbed onto a tree trunk to keep her balance. Once she had righted herself, she scrambled out of the bushes and helped Mike, Buffer, Spider, and Bird get all the boxes onto the sand, while Swain took the RHIB back to the Hammersley to get the next load of sailors.

"We're going to follow the path this way," said Mike, picking up three boxes and struggling to balance them in his arms. Eventually, he managed to wedge the top box under his chin and started onto the narrow path. It was barely wider than him, and the brush hadn't been trimmed in a while, meaning that most of the battle was just trying to push away the boughs with arms full. He made his way down the tiny path at the head of the line of his laden crew. He grimaced as he pushed away the last branch with significant difficulty and emerged into the clearing with the Christmas myrtle with a sigh of relief. The walk was only about five minutes, but it seemed much longer, considering the brush was a nightmare and the boxes were heavy with cans, pasta, and non-perishables.

Bird and Spider were bringing up the rear with a heavy cooler full of perishable foods, like fruits and vegetables, and everything the village couldn't grow itself. Michaela had explained to Kate that they were mostly self-sufficient when it came to things they could grow, but not everything could grow in the acidic, rocky soil, like potatoes. As Bird and Spider staggered up the path well behind Mike and Buffer, the door to the community center door flew open. Kate stood in the doorway, slashing the tape on a box with an X-acto knife. She looked up and managed a smile when she saw them, retracting the blade and putting down the knife.

"It's about time you guys showed up," she said, propping the door open with her foot and simultaneously reaching out to grasp Bird's end of the cooler as she struggled to get it up the rain-slicked stairs.

"Yeah, well," said Spider, dropping his end of the cooler with a thud as soon as he managed to get it on flat ground, "we got here as soon as possible. This is the last of it." He straightened up briefly, stretching his back, and then bent over and braced his hands on his thighs to catch his breath.

"There's a fridge in the back," said Kate, motioning them forward. "2Dads and Charge got the generator working again, so we're going to move everything in there for now. Take the cooler into the kitchen."

Spider grunted as he bent down to pick up the handle of the cooler, and together he and Bird dragged it into the kitchen and flipped the top open and began to unpack it, taking out the milk, yogourt, and vegetables, and organizing them into the fridge.

In the meantime, Kate and Mike were directing the rest of the crew in re-shingling roofs, removing fallen boughs, and removing debris. It was hard, time consuming work, and they didn't finish until the sun had dipped below the horizon, painting the sea brilliant shades of fuchsia and orange. The sky was mauve, tinted with gold and blue.

Michaela appeared in the gathering darkness, her ponytail considerably looser and damp tendrils popping out around her face. She looked tired, but she wore a big smile as she surveyed the village, which looked so much better with re-shingled roofs and without the fallen branches. "Thanks a million," she said cheerfully. "We couldn't have done this without you. It really means a lot, and now we can have Christmas."

Mike and Kate looked at each other and smiled. Sure, they'd been reluctant to take the supplies, but her gratitude was all the thanks they needed. With sighs of relief, they gathered up their crew and headed back to the Hammersley in the dark for cups of hot chocolate, cider, and tea.


	3. December 22

**A/N: BTW, don't own Sea Patrol, or Christmas, just the concept for this. Anyways, here's my next chapter. It's a little dialogue heavy, but I hope you like it!**

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><p><strong>December 22, 2011<strong>

"You look like you could use a gingerbread cookie, Buffer," said Bird sweetly, proffering a plate heaped with cookies. "Or a sugar cookie, shortbread, or snickerdoodle?" She looked at him hopefully, smiling widely. It was the morning watch, and she was trying her best to keep the crew smiling by plying them relentlessly with sugary holiday treats.

"For breakfast?" Buffer asked, raising an eyebrow, but selecting a fat gingerbread man well laced with colourful icing anyway and biting its head off with a crunch.

"It's almost Christmas," chirped Bird cheerfully, "live a little, be a little wild."

"Eating cookies for breakfast is definitely wild," agreed Charge, coming up behind Buffer and carefully choosing two sugar cookies with an expression of glee. "I love Christmas food."

"I can tell," Kate chimed in, still twisting her hair into a braid as she stepped into line, securing her hair with a bright red, non-regulation elastic accepting a plate loaded with scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon from Bird with a smile. "Thanks Bird, this looks great."

Bird dimpled, blushing slightly and looking delighted at the praise from her superior. Kate's compliments were few and far between, but they were always sincere and she always gave them when they were due. She whirled away from the fast-disappearing plate of cookies to take another skillet of scrambled eggs off the stove and scoop it in generous portions onto plates.

"Fantastic, cookies!" cheered 2Dads, already holding a steaming cup of coffee, as he reached for three gingerbread men.

"Not for you," Bird teased, lightly swatting his hand and whipping the plate away, handing him a plate of eggs, bacon, and hash browns instead.

2Dads pouted, flashing her his best puppy dog eyes. "You're mean." He took his plate, head drooping theatrically, and began to shuffle towards the junior sailor's mess, past the rather shredded tinsel and tacky Santa lights, which were flashing on and off.

"Here, give this to 2Dads," Bird said to Spider, giving him an extra cookie for his buddy.

"Um, okay, thanks Bird." He grinned widely at her, despite his initial confusion, and plonked the cookie onto 2Dads' plate, dangerously close to the huge pool of ketchup sitting next to his hash browns. "From Bird."

"Awesome, thanks Bird," he called, biting off the head of his gingerbread man and spraying crumbs everywhere, ignoring Spider's grimace of distaste and casual remark of, 'You're disgusting."

Down the hall in the senior sailor's mess, Kate couldn't help but feel a little more cheerful. The crew appeared to be in better spirits now that the supply drop on Melrose Island was complete, and they were making good time towards home. Things looked good and she even felt well-rested due to a double watch off. Eight hours of sleep a night was a rare luxury.

"Nice hair tie, X," Mike said, looking pointedly at the elastic triple-wrapped around her braid. He offered her a broad smile to show that he was kidding and didn't actually care that her elastic was red.

"Thanks?" She scrunched up her face slightly, taking a sip of her hot chocolate and quickly swept the end of her braid behind her shoulders. "How's the weather looking for today?"

"Not so great," replied Swain, looking up from his brew. "I read the report from Nav Com this morning. There's supposed to be a storm blowing up mid-afternoon. They recommended a change of course to skirt it and waiting it out in the lee of Bright Island."

Kate rolled her eyes at the mere mention of that island. It was like a curse. She pushed the last few crumbs of her scrambled eggs around her plate with a fork, feeling her good mood dissipate a little.

"It looks like we're going to have to wait it out, so maybe we could do something like watch movies," Swain continued. It was a plausible suggestion, as Kate did have a stock of Christmas-themed DVDs."

Kate's eyes lit up for a second. "Can we watch Definitely, Maybe?"

"That's funny, X, I wouldn't have put you down as a chick flick type of woman," said Mike playfully, stirring his cider.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me," Kate smirked, swirling a candy cane in her hot chocolate and breaking off a piece. She popped it into her mouth and sat back on the bench, while Buffer voiced his disapproval.

"Oh hell no. X, I like you and all, but I am not watching a girly movie, Christmas or no," Buffer said, rubbing his hand over his crew cut. He just wasn't in to rom coms, regardless of the season.

"Fine," Kate said, with a sigh of defeat. "But I wanted to save 'What A Wonderful Life' for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day." She pouted slightly and then conceded, "What do you want to watch?"

"I was thinking 'Nightmare on Elm Street'," replied Buffer, exchanging a high five with Swain and Mike.

"Don't you mean 'Miracle on 34th Street'?" asked Kate with a frown, taking another sip of her drink. "Buff, that's about a little girl and Santa. 'Nightmare on Elm Street' is a slasher. It's not Christmas-y at all."

"Fine, let's watch that Miracle one tonight," said Mike. "It sounds cute. It'll promote crew bonding. Only question is who's going to be on watch?"

"We're the navy; we don't do 'cute'," cracked Swain drily, making air quotes, "but I'll be on watch if it's necessary." He smiled at Buffer, who raised a hand and volunteered to be on watch as well.

"There'll be popcorn?" tried Kate, putting down her fork and knife and arranging them parallel before standing up and separating her plate from her cutlery. She tipped her cutlery into the bin of soapy water and slid her plate into the one marked 'plates' in green and gold glitter, smiling at Bird's attempt.

"Well, Swain and I will be on watch, what about you, Charge?" asked Buffer, waving the chief engineer over. He grinned and took a sip of his brew, which was not spiked with cinnamon.

"I don't know, it's a hard sell," admitted Charge, "I'll do it, but only if you bring me some popcorn, X."

With a small smile, Kate threw her hands in the air and admitted defeat. "I will personally bring you some popcorn, Charge, but I'll have you know that I'm rather disappointed that you're not being more involved with crew bonding and morale boosting."

"I'm sure that you'll recover eventually, X," said Charge with an impish smirk as he got up and walked over to the bins for dirty dishes. He brushed off his hands after he tipped them in and then looked over in their direction. "Well, I'm off to go fix that rattle in the engines. See you later!"

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><p>Later that night, the rest crew sat in the senior sailor's mess; with the projector 2Dads had set up, preparing to watch Miracle on 34th Street. They were all dressed in civvies, most in pajamas. At Bird's insistence, there were prizes for pajamas: tackiest, most elegant, overall best.<p>

That explained why RO was sitting curled up on the couch sandwiched in between Kate and Spider, wearing a bright gold, homemade ribbon with "Best PJs, Hammersley Christmas 2011" pinned to his plain grey t-shirt. Of course, he had opted out of the theme night, and thanks to Kate's dry sense of humour, had won.

"Awesome, thanks!" said Spider enthusiastically, as he accepted the tackiest pajama award and pinned it to his navy blue sleep shirt covered with orange, bright pink, and green stylized Christmas tree. He had decided to pair it with bright red plaid pajamas and reindeer slippers. There was pretty much no contest about the winner of the tackiest pajamas. As a matter of fact, 2Dads was getting a headache just looking at him.

"And here you go, Bird, most elegant," said 2Dads with his typical devilish grin as he handed Bird the badge.

Blushing, the young chef pinned it to her powder blue silk t-shirt with a mandarin collar and matching shorts. "Aww, thanks you guys."

"Now, let's watch," said Kate, handing out bowls of popcorn and chips, and pressing play on the DVD as the opening scenes rolled.

"This is so girly," groaned 2Dads, settling back into one of the couches and stuffing a handful of butter-laced popcorn into his mouth.

"Shut up, it's going to be cute," called Spider, curling up a little more and taking a handful of ketchup chips.

"You would say that," teased 2Dads, leaning over Mike to smack Spider playfully on the arm. "You're a girl, and I'm pretty sure that those are girl's pajamas."

"So what if they are?" Spider looked only slightly dismayed and pulled at the front of his shirt, trying to get a look at it. "They're comfortable."

"Can we all just be quiet and watch the movie?" asked Mike, leaning back beside Kate and taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl in her lap. Even though he didn't want to admit it, this was comfortable and he was enjoying the time off, especially as he was sitting next to the woman he probably loved, and watching a movie that could only be described as being cute. Even though Christmas was in jeopardy for all of them, it might be saved after all.


	4. December 23

**A/N: **Happy holidays everyone! I thought I'd finish this up this year. It's just pure Christmas fluff, with about as much substance as a candy cane, but I hope you all like it. I'm such a sucker for fluff, and this is honestly so much fun to write!

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><p><strong>December 23, 2011<strong>

It was two days before Christmas. Thanks to being blown significantly off-course by the storm, the Hammersley was still far from port. And although the movie fest of the previous night had been a rather unexpected success, but they were still resting in the lee of Bright Island while Charge and his team repaired the engines.

When Mike went down to investigate, he discovered that repair also meant blasting Christmas carols from an ancient boom box and singing along. Normally, he would have told Charge to knock it off, but the chief engineer was looking a little down at the possibility of not seeing Jamie and Jessica over their break, so he didn't want to jeopardize that. Coming up from the engine room, he ran into Kate, who had a sugar cookie in one hand and a coffee in the other.

"Oh, I was just looking for you!" she said. "We need to figure out what we're doing tonight."

"We?" Mike raised an eyebrow and looked vaguely confused.

"The crew," said Kate, as if it should have been obvious.

"Right. The crew." Mike cleared his throat and looked around.

"I had an idea. Bird has about a million cookies lying around. We could decorate them," she suggested. "I know it's a little young, but then we could eat them. Presumably the sugar will keep the night watch awake."

"Can't have them dozing off during watch," Mike agreed, "but some of Bird's fancy drinks will prevent that, easily."

"So you're in?" Kate asked, hope lighting up her blue eyes.

"Of course. Go tell Bird, and I'll spread the news to the crew. I'm sure they'll enjoy it," replied Mike.

"I hope so," she sighed, carding a hand through her hair. "I don't know what we're going to come up with for the next few days."

"Me neither," he replied honestly. "We all just want to get out, but we're going to have to swerve to avoid another that's blown up."

"I hate the rainy season." Kate exhaled roughly, sending a puff of air up to ruffle her blonde bangs. "How are we doing for fuel?"

"Charge and the boys have refueled with the extra we got when we went out, just in case we got blown off course. We're going to be cutting it close, though," Mike said. He didn't look too concerned, but Kate could sense the undertone of tension in his brow.

"How close is 'close?'" she asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a bite of her cookie. It rained sprinkles.

"We'll be okay, but we can't afford to go too far off course. We'll sail on the tide and try to get ahead of the storm," he said, leaning against the wall. "We'll need full watches, so we'll do the cookie decorating in cycles. It'll be a quick break for the crew, and they can be social for a bit."

"That'll be good." Kate's expression lightened briefly and then grew somber again. "When's our ETA in Cairns?"

It was Mike's turn to sigh. They didn't have a lot of fuel left, but it was enough to make it back, if only just barely. However, the newest tropical storm was rampaging across their path, and although it would have lost some power by the time their paths crossed, he knew that they couldn't afford to get too far off their current course. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and even though he didn't fear a mutiny, tempers were getting short. He ran his fingers through his thick, short hair, making it stand up. "At the earliest, sometime on the 26th. We really can't afford to still be out late on the 27th."

"Can a ship get some fuel to us?" she asked, ever the practical one.

"I asked Navcom, but there's nobody coming near us during our window."

"This just smells like trouble," Kate grumbled, snapping off a piece of her sugar cookie and eating it. "Well, I'll go spread the word. I'm sure some sugar and sprinkles can't hurt crew morale."

"I hope not," Mike laughed, turning to go to the senior sailor's mess, where he knew the officers not involved in repairs would be hanging out, probably occupied with a game of cards.

Kate headed toward the galley, trying to rally her sinking spirits. "Hi, Bird," she said, mustering the brightest smile she could as she stuck her head around the doorway.

"Hi, X," said the petite chef, looking excited to see her senior officer. "What brings you here?"

"How many cookies do you have?" she asked, looking around the small galley.

"Um, quite a lot, why?" asked Bird, looking slightly confused. "I have lots of spare sprinkles and I could whip up some more icing if we needed it."

"Could you? The CO and I were thinking that maybe we could decorate some cookies tonight," Kate said, smiling more genuinely. "It's a little childish, but we're running out of ideas."

"Sure," Bird said, "I'll get the stuff ready and bring it up to the senior sailors mess later. And X, I don't mean to sound picky, but when are we sailing?"

"I'm glad you asked. We're sailing on the tide, so in about an hour. Charge and the boys are just finishing up. We're heading straight back to Cairns, but we're probably going to run into a storm about midday tomorrow," she said, draining her coffee, and moving into the galley to put rinse her mug.

"Is there any chance we'll be home for Christmas?" asked Bird, her eyes lighting up with a flash of hope.

Kate felt terrible for disappointing the teen, and bit her lip before answering. The hopeful glow died out of Bird's eyes. "No, I'm sorry. Our predicted ETA is the 26th, though."

"Yeah, I figured," Bird replied, trying hard not to look disappointed. She turned briskly away form the stove to place a steaming casserole dish on the counter. "Well, I guess I have some icing to make."

"I'd offer to help, but I've got to go make ready to sail," Kate said, smiling warmly at Bird, and looking wistfully at the tiny galley.

"It's alright, ma'am," Bird said, "maybe some other time. If you see anybody coming off watch, tell them supper's ready."

"Will do, Bird. Thanks a million!" Kate called, as she hurried up the stairs and up to the bridge.

The bridge wasn't exactly bustling. The tacky Christmas lights wrapped around the railing winked at her as she burst through the door. "We're sailing on the tide!" she said loudly, clapping twice to rouse the current watch. "Let's get ready."

"Of course, X. We were just, uh, admiring the sunset," 2Dads said, turning around and removing his feet from his console. "We'll be ready to go in 20."

"Great. Oh, and there'll be cookies to decorate in the senior sailor's mess tonight. Come down after watch to get some cider and cookies," she told the men in the room, feeling a little awkward as they all stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"I love cookies!" 2Dads declared triumphantly, breaking the silence. As if to prove his point, he brushed an abundance of crumbs off the front of his coveralls, and hurried over to the maps, which clearly charted their path from Bright Island straight to Cairns, and the modified path, which accounted for the storm.

Buffer chuckled from his perch at the wheel. "We know, 2Dads. There's icing on your face."

The younger sailor rubbed the corners of his mouth, and Kate rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"It's entertaining watching you revel in your slovenliness," replied RO drily from behind his computer screen.

"Well, I'll let you boys get ready to sail," Kate said, running her hands down the sides of her coveralls.

xxx

It was exactly three minutes after eight, and Kate was off watch. The ship was making good time through the Arafura Sea, and everything was calm. She supposed it was the calm before the storm, but wasn't worried. She made her way to the senior sailor's mess, where everyone not on watch was gathered. She could hear the familiar sounds of Christmas music, and a few voices singing along in not quite perfect harmony. The sound brought a smile tugging to her lips, and she edged into the small room. "I see it's a party down here," she said, folding her arms and flattening herself against the counter. The mess was small to begin with, but with Buffer, Charge, Dutchy, and the CO in the same room, there wasn't a lot of space, but Bird and a few younger sailors had squeezed themselves in.

"Ah, it's the X!" Mike waved a cookie at her, showering sprinkles, and slid her a cup of cold eggnog.

"Hi, everyone," she said, accepting the frothy drink with another smile, and hoisting herself up so she was sitting on the counter. "How are the cookies?"

"Phenomenal!" replied one of the younger sailors enthusiastically, crunching away.

"That's great. How many of you are on watch right now?" she asked, taking a sip of the creamy drink. "Take your cookies and get going."

"Right away, X," said Buffer, squeezing past her. She tucked her legs up to allow him to get by. "We were enjoying ourselves so much we lost track of time."

After the next watch had cleared out, Kate slid off the counter and made her way over to the table and the remaining cookies. She took a reindeer shaped cookie and began to ice it liberally, pressing a red mini gumdrop onto its face to act as its nose.

"Artistic, X," said Mike, looking over her shoulder. Her breath hitched at his proximity, and she shot him a quick back-off look.

"I do my best," she said, nibbling at the back legs. "Where's yours?"

"I ate it." He grinned sheepishly, taking a step back, and rubbed the crumbs off his palms.

"Do I get a cookie?" 2Dads exclaimed, as he bounded into the room and descended on the table. He picked up three cookies, loaded them onto a plate, and headed for the icing and sprinkles station.

"Save some for me!" cried Spider, rushing into the room behind his friend.

"You're pushing it Spider, there aren't going to be many left when 2Dads is done stuffing his face," teased Bird, leaning back against the counter and surveying the happy scene. Despite being so far from home, the crew perked up a lot when plied with copious amounts of sugar.

Just after midnight, the pile of cookies had been decimated, and sprinkles covered the floor. Bird was yawning as she broke out the broom.

"Go to bed, Bird," Kate said gently, reaching out to switch off the stereo. "We'll take it from here. You've done more than enough."

"Are you sure, ma'am?" the gap year student asked, sweeping sprinkles into the dustpan. She stifled another yawn as she dumped the lot into the garbage can.

"Sure. We can clean this up. You too, 2Dads," she said, skewering the blonde with her gaze as he tried to slip out of the room unnoticed. She took the broom from Bird, and handed it to him. She cleared the trays, and stacked them, while Mike gathered up the various containers of sprinkles and the different icings.

When the floor had been swept, the table wiped, and they left the senior sailor's mess, turning off the light with a click.

"So you're off watch?" asked Mike, as he walked Kate down the hall to her cabin.

"For three more hours," she replied, checking her watch. "At this point, I'm not sure I'm even going to bother sleeping. I think I'll watch a movie or write some Christmas cards."

"I should probably check on the current watch," said Mike quietly, looking up the hallway to the stairs leading to the bridge. "I'll see you later. Sleep tight, X."

"You too, sir," she replied with a smile, disappearing into her cabin.

Five minutes later, the sailors on the bridge looked up at the sound of heavy footsteps.

"Wakey, wakey," said Mike, appearing in the doorway with a plate of cookies in one hand and a carton of eggnog tucked under his arm, "and happy Christmas Eve."


	5. December 24

** December 24, 2012**

Mike ascended the stairs up to the bridge, unwinding the string of tacky glowing Santa lights as he went. The ship was already beginning to pitch under his feet as the water roughened. He pushed open the door to the bridge, folding the string of lights around his arm. "We're heading right into the storm, crew," he said, watching the white-frothed waves with apprehension. "And I need the lights and non-regulation accessories gone."

"But they're so… cheerful," 2Dads said, wearing his kicked-puppy expression again as he turned from his console.

"I know, but they're against regulation. We're sailing right into this storm, and things are going to get rough," Mike replied, tucking the lights under his arm and turning to walk out of the bridge.

He made his next appearance in the junior sailor's mess, having added three gaudy tinsel garlands to the Santa lights. "Hey guys, if you're not on watch, could you help get all the non-reg decorations down?" he asked, throwing the tinsel stands down on the table. "They can go up after we get out of the storm."

"Sure, sir," came a murmur from the few junior sailors lounging in the mess.

"Great, thanks. We'll need extras on watch tonight, so I'll be making that roster this afternoon," Mike added, on his way out. He turned out of the mess and was on his way down the hall, when he almost ran Kate down.

"What are you doing?" she asked, raising a blonde eyebrow pointedly.

"Taking down the non-regulation lights," he replied, unwrapping the nearest string of lights, this time in the shape of glowing white snowmen with perky top hats and carrot noses. "They can go back up once we're safely out of the storm."

"Fair enough," replied Kate with a shrug, edging past him with her empty coffee cup in hand. "Need any help?"

"I'm basically done my hunt. I'm going to go make up a roster for extra people on watch tonight. Navcom warned me that this storm was going to be vicious, so we're going to want all hands on deck," Mike replied, tightening the loop of lights around his forearm, and swinging it around absently.

"It's Christmas Eve," moaned Kate, running a hand through her bangs.

"I know, Kate," he said, looking apologetic. "We all hate it. And I hate to ask, but do you think you could be on double watch tonight?"

"Sure," she sighed, twirling her empty coffee mug in her hands.

"I'll bring eggnog and cookies," he said, forcing a smile. "I suppose we could all use some Christmas cheer."

"What's that?" she deadpanned, still twirling her mug.

"Good to know I can depend on you as my second-in-command," he replied. "Well, I need to go get ready. I'm on watch next."

"I'll see you tonight. Post the list in the senior and junior sailors' messes," said Kate, as she walked away down the hallway, on her mission to fill her coffee mug.

* * *

><p>"So this is our Christmas Eve," said Kate, leaning back in her chair at the navigation console. She gripped the underside of the pleather seat as the ship plunged into the trough of another wave.<p>

"Exciting, isn't it?" replied Mike, who was pacing the bridge, occasionally having to catch his balance as the ship rolled.

"I don't say this often, but I'd love to be on dry land," she said drily, taking a bite of her sugar cookie.

"Scared of a storm, X, or too many cookies?" teased Mike, draining the last of his eggnog from his travel mug.

"Hardly. I just want to be home," she said, sighing, and pushing her hair out of her face. "Okay, maybe a few too many cookies."

"Here, have some egg nog," Mike offered, waving the almost-empty carton in her direction.

She swallowed hard as she caught a whiff of the sugary sweet smell, and she wrinkled her nose. "No thanks."

"If you need a minute, feel free to step outside," he said, in all seriousness, his blue eyes concerned.

"I'm fine, just a sugar rush," Kate assured him, leaning over her console as the ship pitched again. In all honesty, she felt unease like the rolling sea beneath her feet. The crew was uncomfortable, tempers short and postures tight. They all wanted to be home, and the tension was so thick you could practically cut it with a knife. She had her own worries, aside from not getting home for Christmas, like whether or not the storm would blow them too far off course, or if they had enough gas.

The Hammersley swayed again, lurched, and descended into another wave. Water splattered the windows of the bridge, and Mike staggered sideways, placing his palm against Kate's console to steady himself. "Time till we clear the worst of it?" he asked, taking his seat again.

"We should be out in about two hours, sir," RO replied, twisting around in his chair. "We're right in the middle of it right now."

The bow cut through another wave, more water sluicing across the front of the ship. Kate's coffee bubbled up around the edges of her coffee mug, and the whole thing tipped over. She reached for it, bracing herself hard against the movement of the ship, and slid almost out of her seat.

"Fun, isn't it?" Mike said enthusiastically, eyes sparkling, and dimples on full show. "Nothing like a few waves."

"A few, sir?" RO turned around, eyebrows practically disappearing into his hairline. He winced as a wall of water battered the bridge, and exchanged glances with Kate.

"We're fine RO, nothing she hasn't been through before," Mike replied confidently, looking completely at ease with his surroundings. He settled back in his seat, watching the stormy seas as best he could in the dark. Looking over at Kate, he found her so pale she almost glowed in the semi-darkness of the bridge. "Do you want to go see Swain, X?"

"I'm fine," she replied, waving him off. The weeks of nonstop sugar were wreaking havoc on her system, but it was nothing she wasn't perfectly capable of handling. She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off the stress headache gathering steadily behind her eyes. They'd get through this – all of it.

Four hours later, the ocean was significantly calmer in the pre-dawn darkness. The extras on watch had been released, and all was business as usual as most of the ship slept.

Kate slipped out to the stern of the ship, holding a bottle of water in one hand. Thanks to a mid-shift break for paracetemol, she felt much more human, and now that the ship wasn't struggling through waves as high as houses, she felt much more optimistic.

The door creaked open and Mike emerged, moving up behind her. His fingers brushed hers, settling on the railing so their skin touched.

Her breath hitched at the touch, but she made no effort to move.

"You feeling better, X?" he asked, brow furrowed slightly in concern.

"Yeah, thanks," she replied, turning her head and smiling at him over her shoulder.

"You should get some sleep," he suggested, taking in how tired she looked, from her crumpled uniform to her rather disheveled braid.

"I was planning on it." She took a long swig of water, and gazed out over the iron grey waves.

"I need to come out here more often," Mike said, gesturing to the vast expanse of open ocean. The sky was beginning to lighten ever so slightly, hinting at the coming sunrise.

"I just needed some space to breathe. Everybody's so tense; they all want to be home," she said in reply, feeling vaguely guilty.

His pinkie finger moved gently against hers, in slow, soothing circles. "Do you mind my being here?"

"Not as much as I thought I would," she grinned sassily, flicking her braid over her shoulder.

"Kate McGregor, you are going to be the death of me one day," Mike groaned, stepping away from the railing and walking slowly around the stern.

Kate only smiled to herself, moving back a few meters and settling herself comfortably in the nook by the lifeboats. Mike joined her, weaving his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't," she whispered softly, pushing his arm away. "What if somebody sees us?"

"Kate, it's 0500, nobody's even awake, and if they are, they're on watch," he replied, trying to quell his disappointment as he folded his hands in his lap.

"We're breaking all kinds of rules right now," she told him sternly, holding herself rigidly upright and trying to ignore how his body molded to hers. "What's gotten into you, Mike Flynn?"

"A crazy thing called Christmas," he replied, more carelessly than she'd ever heard him sound. "Nobody can see us here. It's just us and the sea."

"We can't." Her breath caught as his fingers traced gentle circles on the strip of skin showing between her white t-shirt and fatigues. She tried to ignore how close he was, how his face was just inches from hers. She could smell his cologne, and him, intoxicating and slightly musky.

"We can," he said quietly, closing the distance between them, his arm pulling her to him, and she didn't resist, snuggling against his chest, legs intertwined with his.

"What are we even doing right now?" she breathed, turning to face him. A thousand thoughts were whirling through her mind, lust and adrenaline and fear. What if they got caught? What if somebody saw them? The risks were massive, and yet she found she barely cared.

"This." Mike leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers in a sweet kiss. He pulled her closer, pressing her body to his.

Kate responded immediately, in spite of herself. Deepening the kiss, her hands roamed through his hair, and in one fluid movement, she straddled him, grinding her hips against his. It felt so natural, so right, even though the hard metal of the deck was digging into her knees, and her elbow was pressed against the lifeboat. "Mike," she whispered, pulling away and sitting up, hands trailing lightly over his shoulders. "We just broke every rule in the book." She smoothed her hair, and looked around quickly.

"Mhmm," Mike agreed, leaning back in to kiss her again. "Why not break them fully?" He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, tenderly.

Kate took a deep breath, and tossed her inhibitions to the wind. After all, it was Christmas. Moving a little closer, she gently traced his jawline, running a finger over his dimples. "I've missed you," she told him, melting as his hands ghosted over her hips.

"I've missed you, too," he replied, holding her close. She nestled into his arms, resting her head against his shoulder while his fingers gently carded through her hair. He hummed happily, and pressed his lips gently to hers again. "Merry almost-Christmas, Kate."

"Merry almost-Christmas, Mike," she said contentedly, as the edge of the sun began to peek over the horizon.


End file.
